Category Archives: Garrincha

Lev Yashin– Soviet Union (1954-1970)there have been few challengers to his status as the greatest of all goalkeepers, Yashin was consistent- brave, an athlete and a great stopper.

Cafu– Brazil (1990–2006)**hard to beat and very dangerous going forward.Franz Beckenbauer– West Germany (1965–1977)*(captain)– The Kaiser was solid in defence and his accomplishments as a midfielder led to him practically inventing the role of sweeper. Would win the ball and then set off on marauding runs- box to box.Marcel Desailly – France (1993–2004)*strong, solid and stylish. Paolo Maldini – Italy (1988–2002)the greatest of all left backs, period.

Didi– Brazil(1952–1962)** defined the modern midfielder as we know it- lethal from free kicks, combative, incisive passer.Socrates– Brazil(1979–1986)superb ball player and an ideal fulcrum.Zinadine Zidane – France (1994–2006)*the paragon of modern midfield play, tough, skillful and a deadly finisher.

Mané Garrincha– Brazil (1955-1966)**– Mané wasn’t always glued to the right touchline- he often cut into the inside right channel and could shoot from range or deliver very telling balls into the danger area.He could head the ball also.Johann Cruyff– The Netherlands (1966–1978)could have picked him in a number of positions, his finishing alone justifies his place at the centre of a three man attack.Pelé– Brazil- (1957–1971)***his range of talents and prolific scoring record cannot be overlooked.

I’m shamelessly nostalgic , so I’ll take any criticisms of the ‘retro’ look of my 11 with a pinch of salt.At first I was concerned that it was a bit right sided (imagine having Cafu overlapping Garrincha!).There is also the argument that Garrincha wouldn’t do much tracking back. Cruyff was also accused of sometimes neglecting the defensive aspect of total football. But the midfield has a solid look to it! and the back four is a mobile and formidable unit. If Beckenbauer moved up into midfield with the ball he was usually moving forward with intent, so any gap left at the back was academic.As I’ve said before- in football there is no right or wrong- only opinion- it’s just a bit of fun.Enjoy the World Cup!

I would like to dedicate this post to Niall, whose generous praise is greatly appreciated.

A happy life?Born in a favela in Rio in 1937, Elza was raped when she was 12. Because she became pregnant she had to marry the man who raped her. Her first three children died as newborns, but she was a mother of four by the age of 25. Elza had her first taste of success on Ary Barroso’s radio show when she was still in her teens. Soares became popular with her first single Se Acaso Você Chegasse, on which she sang Louis Armstrong style scat with her trademark husky voice, combining samba and jazz .After finishing her second LP, A Bossa Negra, Elza went to Chile to represent Brazil in the festival that accompanied the 1962 FIFA World Cup. It was there that she met Mané Garrincha. Of course, we’ve had posts on Mané Garrincha (1933-1983) here before, and there will be more in the the future- the most talented individual ever to play football- as Alex Bellos wrote: Pelé was admired, Garrincha was adored.

According to tradition Elza entered the dressing room where the players were celebrating and embraced the naked Mané, who had made a tremendous contribution to Brazil’s success throughout the tournament.

At the time Mané still lived in the same abject style as when he had been a textile worker. He was married to Nair Marques (married in 1952, they divorced in 1965), a factory worker from Pau Grande with whom he had eight daughters. He also fathered two children with another Pau Grande girl, Iraci, whom he ‘kept’ in Rio, as well as a son by a Swedish girl he had met whilst on tour with Botafogo. By the time of his death he had fathered at least 14 children.Mané and Elza married in 1966; as Elza had also been married before, the Brazilian press were critical of the marriage.The couple were harassed by neighbours in the upmarket Rio suburb where they lived; when they visited Pau Grande they were attacked. The public resented the apparent wordly influence that Elza exerted over Mané- for example he began to negotiate more just contracts with his club. In the past he had been content to sign blank contracts and allowed his earnings to rot away in drawers in his house. As Mané’s famously crooked legs began to give out and he played less he succumbed to alcoholism, and their relationship became increasingly stormy. Shortly after the 1966 World Cup Mané crashed his car, killing Elza’s mother. His record with cars was not good- he had previously run over his father and Elza had had some teeth smashed out in another prang* . Mané was also sexually insatiable, and had affairs. His virility, and his large penis, were the stuff of legend- in 1959 a song in his praise was suppressed because the line Mané, who was born in Pau Grande sounded very much like Mané, who was born with a pau grande, which is slang for big dick.Ruy Castro, his biographer was sued by members of Mané’s family for asserting that his manhood was 25cm- the judge booted the case out- how could it be libel to say that a Brazilian man was well hung? Strangely no one took offence at Castro’s revelation that Mané’s earliest sexual experience had been with a goat…apparently not unusual in Pau Grande in those days.Mané and Elza separated in 1977, when she left him after he struck her. (In the notorious psychometric testing prior to the 1958 World Cup Mané had scored zero for aggression).

Elza Soares remains active in the world of music, and she is not afraid to move with the times. There are a number of her records available to download at Loronix, from the early jazz-samba through to the samba-soul sound of the 1970’s.In 2000 the BBC gave her a Singer of the Century award.Here is 2004’s Vivo Feliz album , which mixes samba and bossa with modern electronic music and effects, and features collaborations with a number of leading techno/hip-hop/ artists (I’m never to sure of the terminology for the modern stuff. Anyway- it’s a great sound).Here’s the link: http://rapidshare.com/files/377788825/Elza_Soares.rar

* this bad luck with cars would haunt the family into the next generation-In 1985 Mané and Elza’s son Garrinchinha died in an auto crash on the same stretch of road on which Elza’s mother had died. His son (with Iraci) Nenem, who played for Fulminense, died in a car crash in 1992. His grandson was run over and killed in Pau Grande in 2001.

The following books were invaluable in the preparation of this post:Estrela Solitária – Ruy CastroFutebol: The Brazilian Way of Life -Alex Bellos

That the 1962 tournament was staged at all is something close to a miracle- in May 1960, as the preparations were well under way, Chile suffered the largest earthquake ever recorded (9.5 magnitude).The president of the Organization Committee, Carlos Dittborn, coined the phrase Because we don’t have anything, we will do everything in our power to rebuild, and the preparations were completed flawlessly on schedule.The fact that two Italian journalists, Antonio Ghiredelli and Corrado Pizzinelli, had (apparently) spent weeks labeling Santiago a poverty-stricken dump full of loose women set the tone for the Chile vs Italy game, which became known as The Battle of Santiago. Ref Ken Aston fanned the flames by turning a blind eye to the indiscretions of the hosts- but when Italy’s Giorgio Ferrini was dismissed he had to be removed from the pitch by the police!The Soviet Union’s Lev Yashin had a difficult tournament- he suffered concussion on two occasions. Marcos Coll of Columbia scored the only Olympic Goal in a World Cup against him in a 4: 4 draw, and then Yashin was held culpable as the hosts beat the Soviet team in the quarter finals. On this occasion Yashin’s embarrassment was compounded when Eladio Rojas, overwhelmed at having scored past the world’s best, could not restrain himself from embracing the Soviet keeper.Another curious incident involving the Soviet team came in their game against Uruguay, when Igor Netto advised the referee that an apparent goal by his team mate Chislenko had in fact entered via the side netting. (Thierry Henry? Maradona?)For the eventual champions Brazil Pele’s contribution was brief, as he was injured early in their second game (against Czechoslovakia). Fortunately for Brazil Garrincha was in the best form of his life, prompting the now famous headline in the El Mercurio newspaper:

¿De qué planeta procede Garrincha?

Sadly, the usually immaculate Czech goalkeper Viliam Schrojf, a hero of earlier stages, suffered the indignity of having the worst game of his career in the final.

Manuel Francisco dos Santos was born with such deformities of his legs and spine that it was a miracle that he could ever kick a ball. However, as Mané Garrincha, he became regarded as the best dribbler in football history and is considered by many to be at least the equal of Pele.He was also popularly known as Alegria do Povo (Joy of the People) and Anjo de Pernas Tortas (Angel with Crooked Legs).Garrincha played 50 times for Brazil and only experienced one defeat. He won 2 World Cups.

Here is an illustration of the effect that Mane Garrincha’s mesmeric skills could have on the opposition. Who’s marking Pele?